Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 9: The Maharashtra Congress is planning to establish a statewide connect centre covering all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies to strengthen its organisation and improve communication with grassroots workers ahead of the 2029 parliamentary elections.
The proposed centre will create a direct communication channel between booth-level workers and the state leadership, monitor grassroots activities and collect feedback on the party's organisational performance.
Initially, the centre will have at least 16 desks, with each desk handling three parliamentary constituencies or 18 Assembly segments. The initiative aims to establish regular two-way communication between the state leadership and party workers at the grassroots level.
"The idea is to transform the Congress from a party that merely has an organisational presence into a dynamic, organisationally active and communicatively vibrant force," Dr Sirivella Prasad, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Maharashtra, said.
Prasad said establishing systems to ensure the smooth functioning of the state unit would be among his priorities following his appointment, particularly with an eye on the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The centre will not be limited to collecting feedback and coordinating communication. It will also monitor grassroots political activities undertaken in coordination with the state committee, including voter list verification, protests, the formation of local committees and targeted campaigns.
Another major focus will be to reactivate inactive party workers through digital platforms and personal outreach. The centre will make use of membership records and data from the Congress's Shakti programme, which was launched to strengthen grassroots organisation by connecting workers directly with party leaders.
The functioning of mandal and block-level units will also be monitored, with observers and AICC-appointed coordinators providing support to local organisations.
Prasad clarified that the proposed facility would not function as a conventional call centre or merely as a back office of the state committee. Instead, it would serve as an important channel for gathering and analysing organisational feedback.
He said the centre would connect the state leadership with the last party worker and provide both qualitative and quantitative inputs to support informed decision-making.
It will also maintain records of activities undertaken by party leaders at district and mandal levels and assess their political impact. According to Prasad, these records could be considered while making decisions on organisational positions and appointments.